Universal Periodic Review of the Czech Republic - 14th Session
Statement by Australia
22 October 2012
Australia commends the Czech Republic’s commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights, and welcomes the measures the Czech Republic has implemented since the last UPR, including ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in July 2009.
Australia commends the Czech Republic for the steps it has taken to combat discrimination against minorities, including against Roma. In particular we applaud the adoption in 2009 of the Anti-Discrimination Act and the adoption of the National Action Plan for Inclusive Education in March 2010.
However, Australia remains concerned by reports that Romani children continue to experience systematic discrimination in accessing education, as raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in September 2011, and by a number of other international human rights monitoring bodies. We encourage the Czech Republic to continue to implement measures that remove discrimination against ethnic minorities, including Roma.
Australia recommends that the Czech Republic:
1. Continue to undertake measures to remove discrimination against ethnic minorities, including those recommended by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in September 2011.
2. Continue with measures to remove discrimination and segregation of Romani pupils, including by ensuring effective implementation of its National Action Plan for Inclusive Education.